With less than five million boxes of apples to sell, B.C. fruit growers can’t go head-to-head with their neighbors to the south in Washington, who produce 20 times that volume. The Canadian growers are focusing on differentiating themselves, with the help of new apple and cherry varieties from the Pacific Agri-Food Research Centre’s breeding programs in Summerland, British Columbia. Diversification reduces the grower’s risk and helps the industry avoid competing directly with suppliers of commodity varieties, says Joe Sardinha, president of the B.C. Fruit Growers’ Association. In the past, varieties from the Summerland breeding programs were made available through PICO […]